Surprise toy vehicle



2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ,.QZ. ATTORNEY@v H. H. MALSED SURPRISE TOY VEHICLE MVA.

Dec. 2, 1958 Filed Jan. 7, 1955 .n Il Il Il il Il' ww mw Nm.. mw ww hwSw "In the 2,862,330 SURPRISE ToY VEHICLE Helen H. Malsed, Seattle,Wash.

Application January 7, 1955, Serial No. 480,379 6 Claims. (Cl. 4'6-104)The present invention relates to a toy'vehicle primarily intended forthe amusement of a child.

A purpose of the invention' is to provide a toy vehicle having highamusement appeal for children within the age range of about 2 to 8 orolder, and free from factors which will interfere with enjoyment such asthe neces-V sity to wind up, ease of breakage or wear, requirementUnited States Patent O tention of a child for `a considerable period oftime notwithstanding the short attention limit.

A further purpose is to produce a toy vehicle which can be used withamusing results on carpets, wooden floors, linoleum, tile, stone,concrete, grass, earth, and

even bed covers.

A further purpose is to produce a toy vehicle which can assume in thechilds mind the personality of any of a wide variety of objects andcharacters, including trains, motor cars, trucks, tankers, and variousanimals.

A further purpose is to make a vehicle which will expand over a widerange, but will snap back or lunge forward, and which, on the otherhand, caribe shipped and stored in a small space.

A further purpose is to obtain thrilling sound effects kby the swoosh ofthe spring as the vehicle elongates and then suddenly shortenslongitudinally. y

A further purpose is to produce a vehicle which will simulatea wreckby'turning over or causing one part (either the front or the rear) toturn over, but which will suddenly and unpredictably right itself byrestoring p the inverted element into upright position due to torsion ofthe spring. Y

,'Afurther purpose is to make a'toy vehicle which is equally well suitedfor use as a pulling toy, as a pushing toy, or asa push-and-let-her-gotoy.

`1"",urtlj1er purposes appear in the specication and in the claims.v

drawings I have chosen to illustratev one only of the'numerousembodiments in which my invention may appear, selecting the form shownfrom the standpoints of convenience in illustration, satisfactoryoperation and clear demonstration lof the principles-involved.

Figure l is a perspective of the toy of the invention shown with thespring relatively short.

Figure 2 is a perspective of the `toy of Figure l with the springelongated.

Figures 3, 4 andl 5 are longitudinal sectional views which show` themanneriof snapping or -lunging of the toy, VFigure 3v illustratingthetoy 'before' thepfront is `p'ulledforward, Figure 4 *showing thefront being pulled ICC,

forward, and the' spring elongating due to the retardation of the rear,while Figure 5 shows the sudden' lunging forward of the rear withshortening of the spring.

Figure 6'is a side elevation showing theembodiment of `the invention inthe form of an animal'.

Describing in illustration but not in limitation and referring to thedrawings: v

-The present invention preferably employs a` spring of the characterdescribed and claimed in Richard T. James, United States Patent2,415,012, granted January 28, 1947, for lloy and Process of Use.Numerous efforts have been made without success to embody this toy inthe form of a vehicle or animal which will be attractive andinteresting.

I have developed a toy vehicle or animal which comprises a front, aseparate rear, and a helical resilient spring interconnecting the frontand the rear and simulating a body, the front and rear being free tomove relatively toward and away from one another over a range ofmovement which is effectively restrained only by the compression andexpansion' of the spring. Thus the toy is capable of producing a widevariety of unpredictable effects, stimulating the interest of the childby activity, surprise and excitement. While these effects are obtainedto some extent `by connecting the front and the rear by an ordinaryresilient helical spring, much more vital and intriguing performanceresults from using the spring of the James patent above referredto,which is incorporated herein by reference.

If the toy is used as a pull toy, whether on carpet, wood, linoleum,stone, concrete, tile, grass, or bed covers, the frictional drag isdifferent in different areas. Initialvvly in starting'to pull on thefront of the Vehicle from a position in which the spring is shortened,the front will move forwardy and the vehicle will first elongate before-the rear moves forward, and then after considerable elongation the rearwill begin to move forward. As soon as the rear encounters an area oflower coefficient of friction, the retardation on'the rear will reduceand the rear vwill suddenly snap forward, shortening theV length to thedelight yof the child.

- In the case particularly of small'children who do not thoroughlycoordinate in the use of the fingers, the v'pull cord is likely to slipfrom the fingers of the child at frequent' intervals, so that a reverseelfect occurs. The front nowlunges'back toward the rear, creating moreamusement..

Older children alert to these possibilities will varythe pulling force'as ,the vehicle advances, thus causing' an effect of intermittentshortening and lengthening of the helical spring which is veryinteresting to watch. An infinite variety'of behavior of the vehicledepending upon the normal activity of the particular child, and alsodepending upon the mood of the child, is possible, thus avoidingmonotony.

In' some cases, the child will prefer to crawl or kneel beside thevehicle and push it forward either by pushing `the front [or pushing therear, or alternately pushing on the front and the rear. This makes itpossible for the child to vary the length of the vehicle, depending uponwhether in his imagination it is functioning as a train, a car, a truck,a [tanker or some species of animal such as a snake -or lizzard. Ofcourse the front and rear can be made to simulate any of the objects orpersonalities which may be preferred to add verisimilitude. The toy isthus capable of assuming many different sizes, and for example it canexpand in one embodiment from 4 to 180 inches.

In some cases, children will prefer .to push the toy and let-her-go,thus causing a peculiar motion having unpredictable undulations whichare hilarious to watch. Competitions as to distance and accuracy on'target in pushing vtoys competitively can provide a game for thechildren. One aspect of the invention which has rgreat appeal to parentsis that there is no key or handle which must be wound up, no componentsto assemble and be left on 'the stairs, no fragile par-ts which arelikely to wear-or break, and no requirement Vfor any appreciablemechanical aptitude. 1in fact-the toy can lbe used readily by childrenof `a wide variety` of capabilities in the range vfrom toddlers of about2, to children of 8 or older,

The invention can be used by children who are forced to play alone, aswell as by children in groups, and it can be employed in the back yard,garden, park or on the sidewalk, as well as Vin the nursery, livingroom, hall or cellar.

Children instinctively form their own play patterns using the toy of theinvention. For example in one method of play the front or the lback ofthe toy turns over and the child announces with delight that the trainhas been wrecked. On further pulling the inverted portion automaticallyrights itself by tortional action of the spring, restoring the wreck.

Good results can be obtained using any one of a wide variety ofground-gripping appliances whether gliders, runners, treds or wheels,but for best results, the vehicle should be a wheeled vehicle withwheels applied to the front and to the rear.

The snapping back or lsnapping forward or lunge of the vehicle isaccompanied by a swooshing sound which is much appreciated by smallchildren.

Considering now the drawings in detail, a vehicle front is separatedfrom a vehicle rear 21 and the two are interconnected by a helicalspring 22 which is secured at one end to the vehicle front at 23 andsecured at the other end to the vehicle rear at 24 by any suitable meanswhich may be adhesive or metallic fastening, the detail beingunimportant.

The vehicle front in the preferred embodiment simulates a locomotivefront including a cow-catcher 25, a stack 26, a boiler front 27 and aboiler top and side portions 28. A truck is simulated at 30 mounting`operative wheels 31 on each side which support and roll the front ofthe locomotive.

The rear 21 of the vehicle desirably simulates the rear of a locomotive,including a top and side portion 32 of the rear of the boiler, a steamdrum 33 and a cab 34. The rear of the vehicle mounts operative wheels 35on which the rear rolls, the wheels desirably simulating the drivers ofa locomotive.

The body of the boiler is simulated by the helical spring 22 which asshown is the entire interconnection between the front and the rear ofthe vehicle, there being no articulated linkages, driving shafts, rodsor the like, which would tend to restrain the activity of the front andthe rear in moving relatively toward and away from one another or whichwould restrict the activity of the body in snaking or oscillating both`forwardly and rearwardly and also laterally as the vehicle advances orturns around corners.

A pull cord 36 is connected to the vehicle front suitably at the middleof the front of the boiler, and is used `by the child in pulling. lnpushing the child can grasp the top of the boiler of either the front orthe rear portion or the top of the cab of the rear portion.

While some advantage of the invention can be obtained using a helicalspring of ordinary metallic wire of round cross section, the springyproperties associated with ordinary springs are undesirable since theywould tend to make the spring remain elongated and remain relativelystraight rather than responding to slight differences in longitudinaland force action to produce dramatic changes in position. VIt istherefore decidedly desirable l to use a spring of the character of theJames patent changes of relative positions of the front and back and linchanges of the 4relat-ive posit-ion of the turns Aalong ythe spring.This will be particularly true when the vehicle moves over a hump in theoor or rug, or when it moves up or down a slope.

In the preferred spring, the turns are of rectangular cross section withan axial cross sectional dimension which is less than the radial `crosssection dimension of the spring stock.

The coil should be wound without any substantial compression or tension(lateral force) is closed position between the turns when no externalforce is acting. In this position the turns should be in lateralengagement with one another without any external compression on thecoil. As the coil is extended it obeys Hookes law.

Any one of a wide variety of materials may be used, but spring steelsuch as SAE 1050 to 1095, or stainless steel spring stock are preferred.

-As set forth in the James patent, the spring should have a low naturalfrequency between the limits of 10 and cycles per minute, withsubstantially no tension or compression between turns in closed positionwhen no external force is acting and for dimensions and proportionswhich permit handling by a child.

A circular cross section gives the greatest Vstiffness for a givenamount of material, and is quite undesirable. A rectangular crosssection With the longest dimension radial and the shortest dimensionaxial is much more desirable. This also makes the spring stack in aminimum of space.

As explained in the James patent, the cross sectional dimension .of thespring turn in a radial `direction should not be less than 1.1 and notmore than 10 times the cross sectional dimension of the spring turn inan axial direction, the preferable value being between 2 and 5 times andthe most desirable value being about 4 times. An oval may be usedinstead-of a rectangular section to give results similar to a rectangle.

For practical operation the outside diameter of the coil should bebetween 4 and 100 times the radial dimension of the coil section, thepreferable value being between 10 and 50 times and the most desirablevalue being about 30 times. Reasonable limitation should also be imposedon length. The range of solid height of the springs should preferably bebetween `1/2 and 5 times the outside diameter, the preferable rangebeing between @A and 1.5 times and the most desirable value beingsubstantially equal to the outside diameter.

Without limiting to any particular dimension but merely to set forth adesirable set of dimensions, the following values are given:

Inches Axial dimension of coil cross section 0.025 Radial dimension ofcoil cross section 0.100 Outside diameter of coil 3 Figure 6 shows anembodiment in the form -of an animal, specifically a dog. It comprises avehicle front 20' having the characteristics of the front portion of theanilmal, and provided with wheels 31 and 312, a vehicle rear 21 havingthe characteristics of the rear portion of the animal and includingwheels 35 and a connecting helical spring 22 of the character alreadydiscussed having the characteristics of the body of the animal. Sincethe animal shown is a dachshund, the elongated character of the bodywhen the spring is extended is rather characteristic of the actualanimal and the fact that the body changes in length, converting the dogfrom one species to Ianother as it moves along, adds to the amusement ofthe child. The tail -is desirably a helical coil spring 37 anchored tothe rear portion 21 -of the vehicle, tapering toward the tip, anddesirably carryingfa bell 38 to provide the necessary accompaniment ofnoise. In operation the dog or animal toy can be used in the same Way asthe locomotive `or other form of the device.

`IIt -will -be evident that while the invention is believed to ind itsbest embodiment in a toy intended for children .as above described, manyaspects of the invention also have 4an appeal to the playful spirit inadolescents and adults.

`In View of my invention and disclosure variations and modifications tomeet individual whim or particular need will doubtless become evident toothers skilled in the art, to Iobtain all or part of the benets of myinvention without copying the structure shown, and I therefore, claimall such insofar as they fall Within the reasonable spirit and scope lofmy claims.

`Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A toy vehicle comprising a vehicle front portion and a vehicle rearportion and a resilient coil spring extending lengthwise between saidvehicle portions and having its opposite ends respectively connectedwith said vehicle portions, coil turns of said spring abutting eachother with substantially zero lateral force in the longitudinallycontracted position of the spring and said vehicle portions being:adapted yfor movement on the floor by force applied to said vehiclefront portion to the exclusion of said vehicle rear portion and saidspring being free of restraint in transverse and longitudinal`directions so that the amount of separation and directional deviationof said vehicle portions is determined consistent with the strengthproperties of said spring, said spring being suiciently weak under loaddeveloped by the force applied to said vehicle front portion and anaccompanying lagging eiect of said vehicle rear portion to tolerate aconsiderable separation of said coil turns longitudinally of the springand for snaking to occur when said vehicle front portion is turned froma straight-away course lon the floor with respect to said vehicle rearportion, and said spring nevertheless being sufficiently strong to fullycontract bringing the lagging vehicle rear portion toward the vehiclefront portion, said coil turns of the spring accordingly impactingagainst each other :as an incident to the spring recovering its fullycontracted condition.

2. A toy vehicle according to claim 1, in which the vehicle frontportion and the vehicle rear portion simulate respectively front andrear portions of a locomotive, and the coil spring simulates a boilerthereof,

3. A t-oy vehicle according to claim 1, in which the vehicle .frontportion .and the vehicle rear portion simulate respectively front andrear portions of an animal and said coil spring simulates theintermediate ,-body portion thereof.

4. A -toy vehicle according to claim 1, in which the spring has anatural frequency Vbetween l0 and 100 cycles per minute and in whichlthe spring cross section is of a shape which has essentially lowertorsional stiffness for a given cross sectional area than a square.

5. A toy vehicle according to claim 4, inwhich the radial dimension ofthe cross section of an individual turn of the coil spring is between1.1 and 10 times the axial `dimension of the cross section, the outsidediameter of the spring is between 4 and '100 times the radial dimensionof the cross section and the solid height is between 0.5 and 5 times theoutside diameter.

6. A toy vehicle according to claim 4, in which the radial dimension ofthe cross section is between 2 and 5 times the axial dimension of thecross section, the outside diameter -of the spring is between l0 and 50times the radial dimension of the cross section, and the solid height isbetween '0.75 and 1.5 times `the outside diameter.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS770,884 Zimmerman Sept. 27, 1904 1,552,314 Kohl Sept. 1, 1925 1,604,206Tilton Oct. 26, 1926 1,788,798 Lesot Ian. 13, 1931 2,232,615 Kupka Feb.18, 1941 2,415,012 James Jan. 28, 1947 2,629,967 Lohr et al. Mar. 3,1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 661,195 France 1929 633,641 Great Britain 1949

